Abstract
This paper discusses the film "Dances With Wolves" in relation to man's inhumanity to man, culture, our attitudes towards other cultures, and the media's portrayal of other cultures through the medium of film.

From the paper:

"The film ?Dances With Wolves? (Costner) looks in detail at the way strangers get to know each other. It is seen from the point of view of John Dunbar, a lieutenant fighting during the American Civil War. We meet the wounded hero in a field hospital just as he is about to have his leg amputated. However, when the doctors leave, he decides to rejoin his regiment, and invites death by riding his horse in a suicidal charge at the enemy lines."

Tags:america, american, americans, civil, costner, culture, dances, film, indians, inhumanity, kevin, man, native, north, race, sioux, war, westerns, wolves

Abstract
This paper describes and explores the ceremony and ritual surrounding drum dances among Inuit tribes living in Alaska's far north. As a result of the extremely limited resources available in their environment, all parts of Inuit culture must serve a purpose, including the medium of dance. Dances, and the ceremonial drums used as accompaniment for them, are important parts of Inuit society. Drum dances are used to create and sustain important social bonds, ensure successful hunting, and as a means to "control" the often hostile realities of life in the Arctic. This paper explores the role of drum dances in Inuit social structures, ceremonies, kinship and festivals.

From the Paper
"The ceremonial drum is the traditional musical instrument of Inuit dance. (Hall 1987) Both men and women play drums during song and dance rituals. (Arctic Studies Center Website 1998) An Inuit drum consists of a large, circular frame made from the ribs of a seal or walrus or, since the nineteenth century, wood. (Hall, 1987) Drumheads are made of halibut, dog or caribou stomach, the throat of a walrus or the bladder of a seal, stretched tightly across the hoop-like frame. (Kremers 1996) Drums can be decorated with stark, painted figures representing animal spirits; others have carved ivory handles and feather or fur ornamentation around the rim, and some have no ornamentation at all."

Tags:Anthropology, drums, dance, Inuit, Native Alaskan

Abstract
The paper analyzes the film "Dances With Wolves", directed by Kevin Costner, and how it uses the western frontier to serve a cultural and political purpose. While "Dances With Wolves" takes place during and just after the American Civil War, it certainly evokes more modern responses to its content and context. The paper notes that the film
represents the western frontier as it was, but also makes specific social commentaries on the behavior of the time, opposed to "politically correct" behavior becoming so popular in the 1980s. The paper comments that the film uses a historic western setting to accomplish very modern objectives, seeing the native Americans and the land they lost for what it really was, and gaining a greater understanding of just what they lost.

From the Paper
"One of the most important aspects of the film was its portrayal of Native Americans. However, it also relied heavily on Native American actors, which was unusual in a western film. Again, this was timely due to the occurrences going on across the nation and in government, but it showed a much deeper respect for the Natives and the things they endured at the hands of the whites. Another writer states, "Indians know that no white man or woman can become Indian, but many of us hope those who have learned of our cultures and appreciate their unique humanity will be our friends and allies in protecting the earth and all of her children."

Tags:events/conflicts, relevant, social, context, life, on, the, prairies

Abstract
This paper analyzes and compares the two films, "City Slickers," directed by Ron Underwood and "Dances with Wolves," directed by Kevin Costner with regards to their genre. The paper specifically focuses on whether the films can be considered to be variations of westerns. It concludes that they are western in genre, but they should not be categorized as westerns first and foremost.

From the Paper
"Dances with Wolves is also a drama and an adventure. It is far too long and complicated to be termed simply a western, and, in my opinion, should be considered these things before it is considered a western. The historical data alone makes the film almost like a documentary in its scope. However, it is fiction, so we would be better of to classify this filed as an epic or historical drama. This movie is filled with adventure and battles; it is filmed against an enormous panoramic backdrop. The movie also involves a romance with Dances with Wolves and Stands with a Fist. It would not come close to being classified as a romance, however, because the romance is secondary to everything else that is happening in the film."

Tags:drama, adventure, comedy

Abstract
This paper explains that Kevin Costner's "Dances with Wolves" is a western film popular in the late twentieth century; however, Costner's image of the Sioux tribe as being highly acculturated is a different interpretation of this genre. In this film, the author relates, Costner joins the Sioux tribe instead of being a supporter of the Manifest Destiny and civilizing the tribe to western standards. The paper asserts that, whereas Costner showed the Sioux tribe members as possessing a great amount of intelligence and organizational skills, he did not demonstrate their expression of any kind of feelings.

From the Paper
"Costner managed to make an extraordinary Western in an era when such films are a thing of the past. Dunbar is presented as a man that loves life and all the good things about it. He expresses a sentiment of extreme pride when he prefers to die rather than have his leg amputated. Most people have returned to their homes after the war with the desire to have a normal life and a well-paid job. Dunbar, in contrast, chooses to remain in the military to protect an abandoned U.S. garrison on the western frontier. Total isolation does not seem strange to Dunbar and he immediately adapts to life in solitude, interacting only with Cisco, his horse, and Two Socks, his wolf."

Tags:rules clashes, lakota language, nature expressionless

Abstract
The writer of this paper details the historical filled plot of the 1990 film "Dances with Wolves." This paper also examines the daily life of the Indians as seen in the film who are depicted as living a peaceful existence with no real threat of attack from the white man. While the film portrays many conventional elements of the western genre, at the same time it obliterates the requisite stereotypes which generally permeate these types of films.

From the Paper
"As the film sends us back and forth through time, and switches between the Indians and the searching soldiers, we are able to learn John's story at the exact pace that director and star Kevin Costner wants us to. The beginning of the film immediately shows the soldiers involved in what seems to be a meaningless confrontation that no one is able to resolve until John Dunbar, out of sheer anxiety, sets off the action. The commanding officer at Fort Hayes is the stereotypical power hungry official we've become so accustomed to seeing in westerns and war movies, and it is from this point that we begin to understand just what John Dunbar is facing at Fort Sedgewick."

Tags:film, analysis, native, american, indian, review, sterotype

Abstract
Writers often use the knowledge of a situation to form their novels, but, often, words are added to form a descriptive way of making the story interesting and appealing to the readers. This can be seen in the movie, "Dances With Wolves". The film is based on the social, economic, and racial background of the Lakota people; however, imagination and creativity add to the film and draw the interest of the viewer.

Abstract
This paper explains that Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor's social penetration theory suggests as relationships grow deeper as self-disclosure deepens and uses social exchange theory, also called the game theory, to analyze the cost-reward balance of these self-disclosures. The author points out that "Dancing With Wolves" provides excellent examples of how totally different cultures can both attract and repel one another, how friendships and trust are formed by deeds not just words and how different intersecting strata of social and cultural lives either repel or attract one another. The paper relates that it teaches that the differences among people tend to be created without truly being aware of one another and can be resolved as those "onion skin" layers are removed revealing our true inner personalities.

From the Paper
"There are many examples of initial encounters in "Dances With Wolves", and the manner of the meeting does not always provide the result of closeness, of course. What makes the novel so fascinating is the contact, verbal and non-verbal that links the white man with the Comanche, and prepares him for a life he had never known or understood before. Was it simply loneliness or necessity that brought these encounters to fruition? Is social penetration merely a theory that evolves as social circumstances change? Are we different, socially, today, than were the people in the post-Civil War era covered by this novel?"

Tags:depenetration, cost-reward, comanche, white, man, relationships

Abstract
The paper compares the Kumina and the Maculele dances and their role in the Black Atlantic culture. The paper describes the characteristics and aesthetic and dance concepts of both dances, and shows how both seek to achieve a closer relationship with the culture of their ancestors.

From the Paper
"Primarily the Kumina dance will be discussed. First, this dance is more than often practiced in Jamaica on the Eastern shore. What is important about this dance is that it is actually more than a dance. In essence, Kumina is a cultural mode of expression that was developed by the Bantu-speaking people in the Congo that has helped to keep the language and the traditions of these people alive in Jamaica and some parts of Cuba. One of the main purposes of this dancing religion is to embody the ancestors of past generations through the bodies of the faithful practicing Kumina. This practice has existed for generations among the Black Atlantic culture, and the ancestral worship continues to be a strong part of the religious belief system."

Tags:culture, religion, Jamaica, Cuba

From the Paper
"The opening Civil War battlefield scene, in this movie, gives the first insight into one of Dunbar's personality Archetypes. He has been so severely, rounded, facing possible amputation of his foot, that he wants to die. Dunbar finds himself in a desperate situation that he has little control over causing him to experience feelings of misery and impotence. With great agony, he finds his way back to the front lines and makes a suicidal ride in front of the Confederate soldiers. "

Tags:hero, jung, movies, persona, personality, psychology